Friday, 01 April 2011
So here we are one-quarter of the way through the year.
I am happy to announce that I have a new job. Same company, same location (well, same building, different department). I’m not sure on my start date yet, but it will be sometime around Monday the 11th.
This is great news and great timing because, as I’ve alluded to at this blog, lay-offs are coming in a major way to the department I currently work in. Specifically, about one-third of my department will be axed on the 12th, and the rumor is that the department itself is to be phased out of existence throughout the summer.
It’s strange to think that I am the only one of my co-workers who is guaranteed employment past the middle of the month…but that’s how it’s looking at the moment. It’s really weird to see all my co-workers fixing up their resumes, looking on line for jobs, and showing up at work dressed all classy because they’re going on interviews. I suppose I’ve had co-workers that have done this all the time (i.e., everyone who’s ever quit), but this is the first time so many people are being so open about it. Very odd.

Saturday, 02 April 2011
Today we went for our first walk outside the house this year. That’s not to say we haven’t done any exercising; both Jennifer and I have paid visits to the workout room. But today we ventured out into the great outdoors. I had Isla in our ergo and Owen collected sticks as we went. We walked first to the local co-op but then, deciding we hadn’t done enough walking, we walked around the neighborhood a little more. We then went into the co-op, picked up some stuff for dinner, then walked back home.
While Isla continued to sleep in the ergo, we looked up a nearby geocache and headed back out to find it. No luck. This marks the second time I’ve gone looking for a cache and turned up empty handed. In our defense, there were lots of muddy leaves, trash, and ice in the area where we were looking. We’ll check back again for this geocache soon (it’s less than a thousand feet from our front door).
Also, my wife made this page on our website of Isla’s month-to-month growth. Check it out: CLICK HERE.

Sunday, 03 April 2011
Today is my wife’s birthday, which we celebrated by dining at Buca. This was our third consecutive occasion feasting at Buca for my wife’s birthday, but I think this might have been the most disappointing one.
For one thing, the apple Gorgonzola salad – normally one of our most favorite dishes – tasted as if the lettuce was a couple days past expiration date. For another thing, my wife picked out the fettuccine pasta, and it was quite bland. I doused my serving with liberal amounts of pepper, and I kept spicing things up by filling up on the bread instead.
The dessert was delicious, however, as we were eating it, the waitress asked us if we had any coupons. Here’s something she – and every waitstaff member should know – Don’t ask people if they have a coupon! If they do have a coupon, they’ll remember to use it, and if they don’t have a coupon (we didn’t), then they’ll feel like they’ve been cheated out of something (I did). The waitress said it was too bad we didn’t have a coupon, ’cause then we could’ve gotten our dessert for free. Thanks, lady. Thanks a ton.
Anyway, I guess we’ll try again next year.

Wednesday, 30 March 2011

A few days ago, my wife and I finished editing and uploading some recent home videos of Isla and I keep forgetting to post them here. So, here they are:

This one was filmed earlier this month. Something just tickled Isla about her brother’s yelling. She thought it was hilarious and even waved her hand in imitation of him (presumably to get him to keep doing it). We finally pulled out the camera and caught some of her laughing:

Here’s another video of her laughing. Jennifer recorded this with her iPhone, so the image quality isn’t as good, but it’s good enough:

And here she is clapping. This video was recorded over a month ago – she’s much more vigorous about it now:

Thursday, 31 March 2011

Today I attended a “How to be a straight ally” meeting and luncheon put on by PFLAG (a really terrible acronym that stands for “Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians And Gays”). I figured that I should attend since I am such a strong supporter of free lunches.

The main point of the meeting was that, even if you’re straight, you can still be an ally of the gay-rights movement. She noted that people often don’t like to defend GLBTs because then their co-workers might think that they are GLB or T, too. It’s like this: Let’s say that I say to my co-workers, “Hey, I don’t like that joke, it’s demeaning to women.” Well, no one’s going to think that I’m a woman. And if I say, “Woe, that joke’s kind of racist,” no one is going to think that I am black (or whatever race is being ridiculed at the moment). But if I say, “Um, I don’t really like jokes against gays,” then people might start thinking…”hey, is he gay?”

The speaker noted that in some states it is still legal to fire people for being gay or lesbian. In some states, it’s even legal to fire employees simply for expressing their sexuality in a non-traditional manner (e.g., A woman who wears men’s shirts, or a guy who uses a ‘man bag‘).

She continued by offering some ways in which straight people can be an ally and gave everyone resources for continuing support. I got a rainbow-colored magnet to put up in my cube that says “I support Equality at [name of employer].”

After the PLFAG representative completed her talk, the employee who had set up the event got up and gave some closing remarks. After telling us to take the papers on the table and to visit the website, she announced – whilst getting choked up – that she was bisexual. Wow. I’ve never actually been there before when someone ‘came out.’